It is quite common to have controversies within each discipline; project management and PMO are no different from other disciplines. There are many controversies still surrounding the Project Management Office (PMO) practices, the author will focus on the following four areas of PMO practices:

PMO in-sourcing and out-sourcing

PMO as a temporary organization or permanent

PPM is a practice within PMO or managed separately

Project management precedes PMO or PMO is catalyst to building project management.

This paper presents two case studies, part of multi case studies search that explores the controversial practices within PMO pertaining to four specific practices. The research represents different industries and organization culture. The cases presented in this paper are conducted in the insurance and payment industry in Canada. The case studies present each organization practices, and how these organizations have dealt with these four areas to ensure the success and sustainability of their organization PMO.

The results strengthen the similarities in practice in each of the cases regardless of organization size, challenges, and culture.

Dr. Waffa Karkukly is the President and Managing Director of Global PMO Solutions, www.globalpmosolution.com. With over 15 years of experience in IT, project management, and PMO establishments, Dr. Karkukly has extensive experience in project management, particular expertise specializing in establishing practical PMOs and revitalizing and assessing the value proposition of existing PMOs. Waffa has helped Fortune 100, mid-size, and small-size organizations improve their project management practices, PPM set-up, and PMO establishments through building scalable standards and proven solutions, which have improved the delivery process of an organization.

Waffa holds a BSC in Information Systems from DePaul University, an MIT from Northwestern University, and a PhD from SKEMA School of Business. She is a Project Management Professional (PMP)® credential holder, and an active PMI member who speaks at many PMI events.

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